


no grave can hold my body down (i'll crawl home to you)

by CCs_World



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Fuck Sazed (The Adventure Zone), Gay Ghost Romance, Heavy Angst, Implied Sexual Content, Kravitz is a ghost, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Physical Abuse, Sexual Humor, Taako and Sazed are married, Whump, dubcon elements, it's complicated - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2019-09-11 22:14:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16861213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CCs_World/pseuds/CCs_World
Summary: Taako and Sazed are newlyweds, just moved into their Victorian house in which nobody else seems to want to live. Sazed insists that nothing is weird. Taako isn't so sure.Their relationship bridges the gap between "married for tax benefits" and "it's complicated," so it's no wonder things begin to get rocky. With Sazed out of the house a lot for work purposes and weird things happening too frequently to be coincidence, Taako finds himself talking to the house and, subsequently, to a new friend.





	1. an awakening

**Author's Note:**

> WOW SO I WATCHED A BUNCH OF GHOST MOVIES AND GOT INSPIRED TO WRITE A THING. If people seem interested in this fic I'll write more once I finish some of my other multi-chapter works. Anyway I hope you enjoy this little brainchild I concocted!

“I mean,” Taako says, standing in the open foyer, “it’s not a bad house. Wonder why nobody wanted to live here?”

Sunlight streams in through tall windows, golden light catching on the dust motes that dance in the air, stirred by the breeze coming through the open mahogany door. The floors are hardwood, the walls lined with some seventies-esque wallpaper above the wood paneling. Just to the right of the foyer there is an elegant staircase leading up to a balcony-slash-hallway which directs people back towards the bedrooms, the bathrooms, and the staircase to the third floor.

Taako remembers the realtor warning them to be careful on the third floor. He remembers him not specifying why.

“Maybe there’s  _ ghosts!” _ A pair of broad hands grab Taako’s shoulders, and the man yelps and turns to swat the taller figure behind him. Sazed just cackles and walks past him into the house. “Gotcha,” he says.

Taako thinks that maybe his husband-in-taxes is not taking the “in-taxes” thing too seriously. At least he’s hot. “Really?” he says, exasperated. “Could you maybe  _ not _ do that thing you just did?”

“Aw, come on, Taako,” Sazed smiles, going over to Taako and taking a gentle hold of his shoulders. “I’m just havin’ some fun.”

Taako shrugs off his hands, smiling a little as he does so. “I’m gonna go check it out a little more. Make sure there’s no--” and here he tosses a smug grin at Sazed-- “ _ ghosts _ lurking around. Feel free to, uh, you know--bring shit into the house we bought.”

_ “I _ bought,” Sazed corrects for what Taako calculates to be the 5634837857th time. “With the money I earned from my job.”

Taako rolls his eyes. “Yeah, whatever. When I open my cafe you’ll be sorry.” And with those last words, he ventures back towards where he knows the kitchen is located.

He and Sazed have been married for about a month, and even though Taako insisted to all of his family and friends that it was “for tax benefits only”, the nature of their relationship is a little more complicated than that. Taako has to admit, the guy is cute, and he can be really sweet when he wants to be. Besides, he bought Taako a Victorian manor. What more could a guy ask for?

The kitchen is nice, if a little dimly-lit. There’s a window over the sink, which helps some, but he still flicks on the switch to get some extra lighting to check it out.

“Wow,” he says, then, calling over his shoulder, “Saz! The cabinets in this kitchen are fucking magnificent!” He chef-kisses as he appraises the glorious cabinetry. Shiny, well-treated, antique hardwood cabinets. He never thought he’d see the day where he got to live in a property with  _ antique hardwood cabinets. _ “And look at the  _ countertops holy shit-- _ ”

The whole room is like Taako’s fantasy dream world. He’s in awe of this kitchen, the space for him to move, the various surfaces where he can keep all his KitchenAid products. He could maybe cry.

The lights flicker and seem to dim for a moment above Taako’s head, and he shivers as a breeze brushes past his arms. “Whoo,” he says, “that air conditioning is chilly.”

He exits the kitchen and peeks into the sitting room and the parlor, and then the dining room. It’s all so fancy--all wooden molding and chandeliers and elegant floral wallpaper. He’s a little overwhelmed by all the space they have to live in, but it’s a good kind of overwhelmed.

Venturing up the stairs, he peeks into the elaborate bedrooms and gigantic bathroom. There are two bedrooms on this floor, and he assumes the other two are on the third floor, the staircase to which is hidden behind a door. It has a big keyhole in it, just under the knob, and Taako wonders if it’s locked, and if so, if they were given a key to this door. Carefully, just in case there  _ is,  _ in fact, a ghost or a monster or a demon living up there, he approaches the door and gives the knob a tug.

It doesn’t budge.

“Huh,” he says aloud, “must be locked.”

And he returns downstairs without another thought about it.

“Hey, Saz! This place is fucking incredible! How’d you swing it?”

“Like I said, the property value was really low. Nobody wanted to live here,” Sazed answers, hauling in a few boxes. “Can you sort through these and figure out where this stuff goes?” he asks. “Magnus is here to help unload that table we got.”

“Sure, babe.” Taako opens the first box and digs through its contents. It’s mostly books, which he stacks to go on the shelves he saw upstairs. “Hey, uh,” he says after a moment, “could you turn down the air conditioning in here at all? It’s kinda cold.”

Sazed pauses with a frown. “Taako, the air conditioning isn’t even  _ on.” _

“Oh.” Taako sits frozen with a book in his hand for a minute. Then, putting it down, he shrugs and says, “Huh,” and continues sorting.

He decides not to think too hard about it.

* * *

_ There’s someone in his house. _

The man upstairs wakes slowly from whatever dormant state he’d been in as he senses  _ someone _ on his property.

Of course, this was bound to happen. Somebody was going to try buying the house again. He just needs to keep tossing them out until they all get the point.

He just wants to  _ sleep. _

He drifts down the stairs and unlocks his door with a lazy wave of his hand, closing and locking it again after him before descending again to catch a glimpse of whoever is speaking. It takes a half instant for him to spot the new homeowner, and if he had a heart, it would drop. There sits a beautiful, beautiful man, red hair haloed in gold from the mid-morning sun, looking effortless and relaxed in clothing of pale blue and yellow. He’s waving his arms and talking animatedly to another man, who is much taller and much broader and who is laughing at some joke. The pretty one smacks the other man’s arm and walks out of the foyer, towards the back of the house.

Somehow, he cannot help but follow.

The redhead stands in the kitchen, marvelling at the cabinets and the countertops and the window over the sink and probably everything else, judging by the look on his face. He shouts something over his shoulder about how “magnificent” the kitchen is, and it’s  _ cute,  _ he can’t help it, he feels a surge of…  _ emotion? _ It washes over him, and the lights in the room flicker as he does something he hasn’t done in nearly two centuries.

He smiles.

He ventures closer, drawn by the vibrancy of this man, dappled by freckles and unmarred by any obvious blemish, and his hand reaches out unbidden. He wants to touch him. He wants to feel this sunny warmth radiating from this person he has never met.

The man shies away from his touch, shivering, and says something about air conditioning before leaving the room. It leaves him feeling unexpectedly hurt.

He frowns and trails after him, this beautiful, beautiful man, as he sticks his head in every room he sees and makes some adorable comment about some feature of the room. He follows him up the stairs, watches him peer into the bedrooms, hears him gasp at the gigantic bathroom.

He sees him struggle to open the door, and he’s just about to unlock it for him, to let him willingly into his domain, when he lets go, gives up, and heads back downstairs.

He sighs and waits for him to leave. He knows he shouldn’t let them stay here. He knows he should get them to go, drive them out of his house like he always does, go back to sleep. He knows that people don’t take kindly to the shadows of the dead.

But for once in his afterlife? He really, honestly, doesn’t give one single flying fuck.


	2. chilly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Mm. You good babe?” Sazed mumbles. One big arm comes up and around to pull Taako close.
> 
> “The house is making noises,” Taako whispers.
> 
> “It's an old house, baby. It's gonna do that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guess who's back!!! that's right it's me!!!!! college is kicking my gay ass and im trying to survive but i finally managed to write one singular chapter. this one's kinda slow but it's got some important details in it. the real shit happens next chapter ;)  
> i hope u guys like it

The first night in the house is weird. Taako supposes that that's how it always is--moving into an unfamiliar place and trying to adjust to a new environment just feels like that--but it feels  _ different. _ He can't quite explain it, and Sazed would laugh it off anyway, but he feels  _ something.  _ The atmosphere is off, his body tingling as he lies awake in bed, his senses trying to detect something that isn't there.

It's  _ cold  _ in the room, is the thing. The windows are closed, the thermostat set to 65, and yet, Taako shivers beside his husband, huddled under the blankets. It's a penetrating cold, seeping through the covers and straight into Taako's bones.

And  _ then _ he hears  _ creaking. _ The walls groan, the floors settle, the windows hum, doors left unshut squeak as they swing slightly. Taako shudders and burrows closer to Sazed.

“Mm. You good babe?” Sazed mumbles. One big arm comes up and around to pull Taako close.

“The house is making noises,” Taako whispers.

“It's an old house, baby. It's gonna do that.”

“Feels fuckin’ weird in here. Don't you feel that? The, the tingly feeling?”

“You're just cold. Really, are you sure you're not sick?” Sazed sits up slightly, his face sleepy. He doesn't look particularly concerned, just a little exasperated. “Please go to sleep.”

Taako sighs and rolls away from Sazed again. “Whatever,” he mutters into his pillow.

Sazed might be right, he tells himself. The house is old. It's probably just settling. Or something.

It doesn't explain why he's so cold, but again. Maybe Sazed is right. He could just be sick or stressed.

He's still shivering as he falls asleep.

* * *

He can't rest when there are other people in his house. Sleep won't come, their presence is overwhelming. It's frustrating, but--this gorgeous person, this  _ Taako-- _ he's a little enamored, really.

He knows it's a little odd, but he can't help following Taako into the master bedroom. He turns around when Taako undresses, he's not a  _ creep _ , but--he can't help staring at the pretty face framed by bright red hair as he tries to sleep.

He ignores the man beside him. He's nowhere near as fascinating.

The pretty one stirs, rolls over, and he realizes that he is shivering. He curses, frustrated, wishing his very presence didn’t have to be so cold, and the house creaks and shudders, echoing his anger.

He doesn’t feel very often, but when he does, the emotions come out strong.

Despite his chilly presence and the obvious discomfort of the man called Taako, he stays, watching, looking, feeling, long after Taako falls asleep.

* * *

When Taako wakes, it’s early in the morning. The sun is peeking through the cracks in the curtains, the room is much less chilly, and the clock on the screen of his phone informs him that it is 5:47 am. He sighs and crawls out of bed. “Guess I’ll unpack,” he mumbles to himself, casting a glance toward his husband, who is still sound asleep.

He showers, dresses himself, carefully combs and braids his hair, texts his sister a quick “good morning” message letting her know that no, he did  _ not _ get murdered by a spooky victorian ghost overnight and no, he does  _ not _ need her dear nerd husband Barold to come over and use his weird ghost boxes. 

_ -but it was like really cold last night and saz said the air conditioning wasnt even turned on so maybe theres a ghost in here? _ he adds after a minute, mostly as a joke.

_-holy shit taako you have to let us come over and meet ur ghost host now_ _  
_ _-who knows u might have a sexy ghost romance behind the scenes_

_ -lulu im MARRIED. _

_ -just sayin. _

To his credit, Taako certainly wouldn’t  _ mind _ a hot (cold?) secret ghost romance to spice things up a little bit while Sazed is at work. Maybe the ghost would like to help him unpack all these boxes. He sighs as he looks around the foyer at the stacks and stacks of cardboard and plastic containers. It’s a daunting task for one guy to complete. Maybe he  _ should _ ask his sister and her husband to come over. They could have lunch and set up the house while Sazed is out. And Sazed will never know that Lup was here.

That’s another fun thing: Sazed does  _ not _ like Lup, and Lup does  _ not _ like Sazed. Taako doesn’t know what it is; maybe they’re just polar opposites. Maybe they just rub each other the wrong way. Taako likes Sazed just fine, so Lup should too! Right? And Sazed should like his sister-in-law. It’s very confusing.

Taako shrugs.

_ -hey when saz leaves for work did u want to come over and help me unpack, theres a lot of boxes. _

_ -sure thing bud. i’ll bring lunch _

_ -nice _

* * *

He knows immediately when the bigger man leaves. He can only sense one presence on the property, and he realizes with a jolt of Emotion that Oh Fuck, He’s Alone In The House With The Most Beautiful Man He’s Ever Seen. He immediately phases through the floors until he gets to the ground level, where he sees Taako unpacking more of those stacked-up boxes. Maybe he should help; there sure are a lot of boxes. But does he really want to expose himself? And not in the scary-spooky-get-off-my-property way?

Just as he decides that yes, he would very much like to communicate with this lovely person, he can feel two more presences approaching the front door. With a silent curse, he retreats to the top of the staircase to watch.

In walks a woman who looks almost exactly like Taako, who pauses just inside to take a good look at her surroundings. “Hey, Taaks,” she grins.

“Oh, Lulu, thank fuck, I’m pretty sure my hands are going to fall off. Help me sort this shit.”

“Yeah, hang on, let me see if Barold needs any help.”

She ducks out of the door for a moment and when she returns, she is carrying a few containers of food and followed directly by a rather pudgy, middle-aged man with thick glasses who is wearing blue jeans and laden down with an armful of strange-looking devices. “I heard something about a ghost?” the man says, and  _ oh shit he’s one of those people. _

He  _ hates _ dealing with these people. They come into his house with their strange blinking boxes and their strange staticky noises and they ask him to  _ talk  _ or  _ give them a sign _ and address him as “spirit” and they won’t  _ leave him alone _ unless he throws a chair at them.

And he hates throwing chairs.

“The energy in here is absolutely bonkers,” the man (Barold?) continues, shoving his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “I’d love to take some readings.”

“Ah-ah-ah, lunch first,” Lulu tells him, and opens up one of the containers.

“Ah shit, is that chili?” Taako gasps, no doubt catching a whiff of a delicious odor emanating from the box. He stretches his arms out, fingers wiggling as he makes a grab for the food.

Lulu laughs and lets him snatch it from her hands before opening her own. “You probably haven’t unpacked the flatware yet, so I brought plastics.” She brandishes a box, and Taako grabs that from her, too, and fishes out a spoon.

“Is this Aunt Mia’s recipe?” he asks before shoving a spoonful in his mouth.

There are so many names being tossed around.

He wonders how long it’s been since someone spoke his name.

With a sigh that blows a gust of cold wind through the house, he retreats back up to the third floor.

* * *

“Woah, what the fuck?” Lup gasps, almost dropping her tupperware container of the most fantastic chili ever known to man, woman, or other. “What was that?”

Taako shrugs. “I dunno, it just happens. The house is probably drafty.”

“Holy shit!” Barry exclaims, pushing his glasses up again, lunch forgotten, “That’s at least a level 5 entity! The energy in this house is insane!” He whips out a notebook and a pen and jots something down.

Taako rolls his eyes. “A level 5 entity, Barold? Do you have classifications for all this shit?”

“Of course I do, Taako, I’m a professional,” Barry scoffs.

“Okay, so what’s a level 5 entity?”

Barry grins excitedly. “A level 5 entity can also be classified as a low-level poltergeist. It can interact with objects and surroundings and prefers to remain invisible, although it can be detected through cold spots. Spirits of a level 5 or higher are typically reclusive and don’t enjoy the living being in their space.”

“Yikes.” Taako wrinkles his nose. “Yeah, that kinda sounds like what’s happening in this house. Creaky floorboards and super cold rooms and random wind blowing through the house. And sometimes the lights flicker.”

“Oh, the lights flicker?” Barry asks, jotting something down in the notebook. “That’s not typical level 5 behavior. You haven’t seen anything move, right?”

“No, but I’ve only been living here for—hey, you’re not expecting me to believe all this shit, right?”

“I’m just saying it’s a possibility that your house could be, like, super haunted.”

“It’s probably not something to worry about, though, right?” Taako says.

“Well, depending on the level of the entity and how aggressive it becomes after you’ve been here for a little while, it might become a bit of a problem. But I don’t think you have to worry about it right now.”

“Well, uh, that’s good. I think.” Taako resumes eating, a little less enthusiastically as he ruminates on the possibility that his house could have a ghost in it.

When they finish eating, the trio begins unpacking the various boxes and containers that litter the foyer and front room. “This is the worst,” Taako grumbles. “The boxes are too heavy.”

“I dunno, bro, I think you just gotta lift more.” Lup hefts a crate on one hip and flexes her free arm, showing off toned muscle. “I’m sure your hot ghost boyfriend would love to see Taako as a twunk instead of a twink.”

“Shut up.” Taako beans her in the head with a crumpled-up wad of paper.

“I’m right and I should say it,” Lup declares, and begins carrying the crate up to the master bedroom.

* * *

He can’t sleep with all the activity going on in the house. If only they would hurry up and get out already, and leave him alone with Taako. He can tolerate Taako’s presence. Taako’s aura is nice, if a little stressed. His emotions are so complex, far more complex than anyone else who’s stepped inside his house. Everything is so complicated with Taako.

He doesn’t want to drive them away, though, is the thing. Because if he drives away Taako’s friends, he might scare Taako off as well. And isn’t that a selfish thought? You spend a century kicking people out and then you suddenly just  _ stop _ because you want to keep a pretty boy around. He could laugh at himself.

But Taako is the most interesting thing that’s happened to him lately. He doesn’t want to scare him away.

So, he stays put away on his floor of the house, eyes closed, energy low, spreading his presence through the house so he can feel every step Taako takes, every emotion he feels, every word he speaks. And he waits for quiet to come.

* * *

Lup and Barry stay for as long as they can, lugging boxes to their respective rooms, unpacking what they can, and looking around when they find a moment. Barry at one point tries to get a read on a spirit box, but Taako slaps it out of his hands. “This isn’t the time for your nerd shit. I’ll invite you over for that specific reason another time, if I feel like I absolutely  _ have _ to.” Eventually, though, Taako checks his phone and says, “Oh shit, Saz should be home soon. You guys better get going.”

“Fine,” Lup says, dropping a box on the floor. “I’ll be taking my tupperware.” Taako wordlessly hands it to her, and then allows himself to be hugged by his sister. “Take care of yourself,” she says, in her Serious Sister Voice. “You need anything, text Barry or me. I mean it, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, fine,” Taako mumbles, giving her a quick squeeze back before practically shoving her out the door. “C’mon, I can’t have Saz seeing you were here.”

“Love you!” she calls, slamming the car door.

“Love you,” Taako responds, and then his twin is gone, and he’s left with a box-cluttered foyer and a strange, settling, heavy feeling in his gut.

The house is quiet for the most part. Taako moves things out of boxes and onto shelves or into cabinets or closets, music playing quietly on his phone. Occasionally he’ll hear a floorboard creak overhead, or a distant, dull  _ thud _ from what was probably the locked third floor. But it’s probably nothing. Barry was just joking. The house is old and drafty and creaky and it settles sometimes and it’s probably got squirrels in it. It’s fine, and it’s definitely not haunted.

“Ghosts aren’t real,” he says aloud, just to pound that fact into his brain. “Ghosts aren’t real and this house is not haunted.”

“Are you sure about that?”

Taako screams.

And from behind him there’s laughter. “Oh my god, I got you again!” Sazed howls gleefully.

Taako smacks him on the arm. “Hey, fuck you! I’ve been alone in here all day!”

Sazed looks around. “You sure got a lot done. The place is starting to look more like home.” He grabs Taako around the waist and pulls him in for a kiss, deep and open and maybe full of more tongue than Taako was expecting. “I kinda want to break in our bed. Christen our new home. Yeah?” he whispers in Taako’s ear, hot and heavy. “We’ll have dinner after but I couldn’t stop thinking about you all day at work.”

And, well, with an offer like that, how could Taako refuse?

* * *

He doesn’t know what he’s hearing right away. He doesn’t know what he’s sensing, what he’s feeling. And then it suddenly hits him, and he frantically withdraws his senses back into himself as far as they’ll go.

He regrets letting these people stay in his house. Tomorrow, they go.

...He blocks his ears for good measure. Gross.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i spent an entire hour coming up with a list of the different entity levels. this will be important later  
> anyway find my taz blog @sapphiremirror or my main @themindofcc if u like my stuff and don't forget to comment/kudos!


	3. level 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sizzle It Up begins. Taako learns his spooky friend's name. A moment is shared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back!!!! finals week is next week and I'm procrastinating on studying or completing any of my projects. I hope you guys like this chapter, it gets Very Gay.

It's a day like any other day. Sazed is at work and Taako is left behind to unpack the remaining boxes and spread rugs on the hardwood floors and toss various throw pillows where throw pillows seem to belong. You know, like a normal, average day. Maybe later he'll mess around and experiment with making a cooking video. People like those, right? People can make money off of YouTube videos, right? He's Taako, everyone loves Taako, how hard can it be to get 10,000 followers?

As he's taking a dusting rag to the wood molding around a fireplace, the lights flicker, and the room goes cold. He shivers. “Oof,” he mutters, “some draft.” He glances around. Nobody there.

He shrugs and returns to dusting.

And then the curtain rod falls off the wall with a loud clatter, and Taako shrieks and throws the rag at the noise.

“Fuck!” he says, “I'm really on edge today. It was probably just loose. It's an old house.”

As he moves toward the window to put the rod back, it  _ lifts up _ and it comes  _ flying right at him. _ Now  _ that _ is fucking spooky.

“Ex _ cuse _ me!” he scolds as he ducks, coming to the sudden conclusion that his house is, in fact, haunted. “What the  _ fuck?” _

The rod clatters to the floor, and a book falls off a shelf. Then another. And another, and another, and  _ another,  _ until the shelf is nearly empty and the floor is covered with a scattering of books. “Oh, hey, you know I'm gonna have to clean all those up, right?” Taako huffs, deciding that what the hell, if there's a ghost in his house he might as well establish who wears the metaphorical pants in this spooky relationship. “And I'll have to do it before Saz gets home, too, 'cause he sure as hell won't be pleased with the mess you're making.”

In response, the last two books fall off the shelf and land with a  _ plop _ on the pile on the floor. Taako throws his hands up in the air. “Really?”

Taako isn’t certain, but he’s pretty sure that the atmosphere in the room suddenly turns very smug. And then the air around him goes very cold, and a wind rushes past him, and the feeling that someone is there is gone. “Fuckin’ ghost,” he mutters. He feels like this whole haunting business is more trouble than it’s worth

But, as he’s cleaning up the books later, a thought hits him.  _ He can use this. _

He drops the book in his hands, ignoring the  _ thud _ it makes on the ground, and texts his sister.

_ -hey lulu? _

_ -ya koko? _

_ -im gonna make a fuckin youtube channel _

_ -hell yeah bud. _

* * *

_ Ah, yes, _ he thinks as the last books topple to the floor,  _ this will definitely get him to go away. _

It does not, in fact, convince him to leave. Neither does the racket he makes in the kitchen when he pulls all the freshly unpacked pots and pans out of the cabinets in the kitchen, or when he makes every lightbulb in the second-story hallway shatter. Or when he knocks a picture of Taako and Lulu off the wall. Or when he passive-aggressively locks all the doors, as if to say,  _ Fine, if you won’t leave, I’ll trap you here. _

He unlocks all the doors again when Taako doesn’t even seem to care that much. “It’s not as if I’m gonna  _ leave,  _ kemosabe, and besides, a day without Saz would be chill, even if he’d be  _ less _ chill when the doors inevitably unlocked and let him in later.”

In fact, Taako almost seems to  _ enjoy _ his misbehavior. He finds it  _ funny. _

The day after his little passive aggressive act with the books, Taako makes a little setup of some equipment in the kitchen. Among the inventory is a lot of fresh ingredients, some utensils and appliances, and two cameras. And he watches as Taako presses a red button on the cameras and begins talking to the one in front of him, his hands working underneath the second one which focuses on what he’s doing with the food.

Taako’s talking and joking would be fun and endearing to listen to, and his tricks would be entertaining to watch, if he wasn’t so loud and  _ present. _ If he could quiet down, or just  _ not _ do whatever he’s doing, it would make things so much easier. Maybe he could get some rest, finally.

Annoyed at all the noise Taako’s making, he picks up a measuring cup from the counter and throws it at Taako. It doesn’t go very far, doesn’t hit Taako at all, but it moves within the view of the camera and makes a loud clatter on the floor, and Taako stops what he’s doing and looks down. “Oh, hey, there they are,” he says, and leans down to pick up the measuring cup. “Casper the friendly ghost finally arrives. Where’ve you been, dude? I probably shouldn’t call you dude, not sure about the whole ghost gender thing.” He chatters away to the camera as his hands get back to work.

His name is  _ not _ Casper, and he is  _ not _ friendly, that is not the reputation he wants to project. Frustrated, he knocks a potato off the island.

“Hey!” Taako scolds, and picks up the potato, taking it to the sink to rinse it. “Feel free to fuck up whatever you want, but hands off the food. I’m trying to promote a clean and healthy kitchen, and it’s kinda hard to do that when you’re putting your ectoplasm or whatever on my shit.”

He huffs from his position behind Taako, and the breeze from his barely-contained annoyance ruffles Taako’s hair, making him shiver. “Ugh, enough with the cold breeze. You’re not gonna spook me with that shit.”

He rolls his eyes, hidden and unseen, and drifts off towards the stairs, not without making the lights flicker and the cameras short out for a moment on his way past. He can hear—and feel—Taako’s own frustration, and he laughs quietly to himself.

He wants him out of here, he really does.

But for some reason, it makes him inexplicably happy to hear Taako’s snorting laughter as he does something else passive-aggressive to try and make him leave, and suddenly it’s sort of like a game where, as soon as “Saz” leaves, he’s immediately pulling some shit and waiting to see how long it takes Taako to notice that, say, the bathroom sink is overflowing, or there’s ominous wording ( **GET OUT** ) scrawled on the fogged-up mirror after Taako’s shower, or he’s filled all the soap bottles with ketchup, or the magnetic letters on the refrigerator spell out creepy words, or all the drawers in the kitchen have been rearranged. He doesn’t show himself, but sometimes he allows his presence to be felt as a strong emotion or a particularly cold patch of air or an impending sense of dread or, on rare occasions, a hazy form drifting down the hallway.

Taako, for his part, takes to his shenanigans gleefully and willingly. He laughs at every dumb ghost stereotype he uses, loses his  _ mind _ at the ketchup prank, smiles through his exasperation as he cleans up messes. He seems to enjoy talking aloud to the room he’s in, as well, like he’s actually  _ talking to him, _ which is a surprisingly welcome change. And he also seems to enjoy catching his tricks on camera whenever he’s cooking.

“I get it, you don’t want me here,” Taako says to the empty kitchen after he’s finished cooking something, a few days after he introduced the cameras. “But you gotta admit, your goofs are getting me  _ lots _ of views on YouTube. I’ve already got a hundred-plus followers.”

He doesn’t know exactly what that means, but he knows it makes Taako very happy. Which is something he’s grown to like.

Two weeks pass like this, and his ominous messages gradually change into helpful reminders ( **DON’T FORGET TO TAKE YOUR PILLS** ), his pranks turn less destructive and become more like actual harmless pranks, and he starts to show little signs that he’s listening to Taako’s rambling, like making the curtains blow when the windows are closed, or shifting a bowl across a table, or knocking a single book (not the whole shelf) to the floor.

Then one day, perhaps about two and a half weeks into Taako’s stay in the house, the man asks aloud, “Hey ghost, if we’re gonna be doing this for a while, d’you think you can give me a name or something to call you? It feels weird just calling you ‘spirit’ or whatever, I’m not into that spooky movie bullshit.”

And honestly? He’s got nothing left to lose. So he whispers into the air around Taako,  _ “Kravitz.” _

* * *

Taako honestly is not expecting Ghosty to answer when he asks. But what the hell, he’s not complaining. “Fuck, I shoulda caught that on camera,” he mutters. Then, aloud, he says, “Kravitz? Huh. Rare. Classy. I like it.”

No, his hands are  _ not _ shaky. What are you talking about. He isn’t at all spooked by the haunting whispers of a long-dead spirit in his old Victorian manor. He waits for some sort of response, and is rewarded with the creaking of a few floorboards a few feet away. “Shit, you’re close,” he mutters. “Dunno if I’ve ever consciously been this close to a ghost before.”

The floorboard creaks again, closer this time. Almost like a challenge? Maybe not a challenge. Maybe it’s just curiosity.

“Oof, it’s cold,” Taako says as a chilly breeze radiates from a spot about three feet away from him. The cold spot instantly retreats. “Huh,” Taako says, “thanks…. Kravitz.”

From then on, their interactions are a little more personal. Taako speaks directly to Kravitz, and Kravitz listens, and shows he’s listening with his typical indicators. And Taako  _ loves _ talking with Kravitz, he discovers. Or, talking  _ at _ him, since Kravitz doesn’t really reply at all. It’s fine, though. Taako can vent out all his frustrations with Sazed, or chatter excitedly about his cooking channel, or brainstorm aloud new recipes to try, and he’s got someone to listen to him, which Sazed doesn’t really do. Sazed, as good as he is with taking Taako to pound town, isn’t much for listening to ideas, and frequently calls whatever Taako wants to talk about “stupid” or “a waste of time.”

Which, alright, maybe he is a bit of an idiot, not the sharpest spoon in the drawer as the case may be—certainly not as smart as his sister—but Sazed doesn’t have to say it to his face. He  _ knows. _

The one problem with this arrangement of talking and listening is that Taako cannot talk to Kravitz when Sazed is home. And it  _ sucks. _ Sazed is okay, but he’s temperamental, not really into goofs, doesn’t believe in ghosts, and is mostly interested in sex and a housekeeper, which is  _ not _ what Taako’s about, really.

Okay, so the sex is fantastic. But, loathe as he is to admit it, it’s probably not great to have a marriage based solely around a good sex life. As Lup’s reminded him several times, things are probably going to go crumble pretty fast as soon as one bad thing happens. Taako just has to make sure the bad things don’t start to happen until he has his life together enough to open up that cafe.

And, surprisingly, that’s starting to happen. His cooking channel has really taken off, and three weeks after it started he’s already at 500 followers and counting. Of course, his video titles like “Chicken Cordon Bleu—My Ghost Throws A Knife At Me???” really help sell his channel.

Lup and Barry are over a few more times within the span of those three weeks, and Taako and Lup even make a video together. His followers eat it up. And they also eat up the shaky video Taako took of Barry getting readings of the house on his weird ghost-detecting devices. “I take it back,” Barry says on the screen as he looks down at whatever his little blinky boxes are telling him. “Remember how I said the entity here is at least a level 5?”

“Yeah?” Taako says from behind the camera.

“I was so, so super wrong. This being is at least an 8. Be careful, Taako.”

“What… what does that mean?”

“Level 8 entities, or higher, don’t really like people. They’re highly temperamental, and often malevolent. They’re prone to projecting or manipulating feelings and emotions, and entities higher than 8 can directly possess a human vessel. It’s a bad scene out there, Taako.”

Three days later he asks the ghost his name, and instead of throwing a violent fit or freezing the room or whatever, he gives an answer, in the form of a whisper. He doesn’t even need the ghost box Barry “forgot” on the coffee table.

So, Kravitz is a level 8 entity. Or higher. So what? If they’d wanted to hurt Taako, they would have done it by now, right?

Right?

“Hey, ghosty? Kravitz?” Taako says to the empty bedroom where he sits, folding the laundry Sazed instructed him to do today. “You here?”

A cold breeze, a slight knocking at the doorway, and there they are.

“Shit. Hi,” Taako says. “Um. If you’d wanted to hurt me, you woulda… you would’ve done it by now, right? You’re not gonna like. Torment me day by day until you possess me and make me bleed outta my eyes? None of that Conjuring bullshit?”

There’s no immediate answer, but the floorboards creak around the room, as if someone is pacing back and forth. It’s sort of scary, watching the curtains gust as a breeze blows throughout the room and hearing the floorboards squeaking without anyone being there. But then it stops, and the room is silent.

“Kravitz?” Taako calls. The room is cold. Everything is still.

And there it is. The softest, gentlest touch against his cheek, barely there. It’s more like a whisper of air, but—it’s there, and he can feel it. Like a hand barely brushing his face. The whole area in front of where he sits on the bed is icy cold. A slight breeze makes his hair move, blowing stray curls out of his eyes.

_ “No,” _ the room breathes.

“Oh,” Taako whispers. “Okay.”

He shivers, once, and the cold around him instantly retreats. The lights flicker, once, and then everything is warm and still once more.

“Oh,” Taako says again, and then he returns to folding a T-shirt three sizes too big for him. Just another day at the office. The super duper haunted office.

* * *

Upstairs, in his room on the third floor, Kravitz paces, tugging at his hair. “Why the fuck did I do that? Why did I fucking touch him? What the fuck kind of entity can possess  _ me _ to make me do something so monumentally idiotic? What was I thinking?”

The look on his face though—looking right through him, eyes wide and dumbstruck, lips parted slightly, nose pink with the cold, hair ruffled in the breeze of his presence. He’s so lovely, all the time, but in that moment. Oh, in that moment Kravitz had wanted him to look at him that way forever.

“Fucking hell,” he swears. He can’t be in love. Over 100 years, and he cannot possibly be in love. It’s not possible. All he should want is to get everyone off his property and to go back to sleep.

But Taako has flipped his whole world upside down. He’s taken Kravitz’s non-existent heart and left him wanting, left him reaching and chasing and ever returning to him. He speaks to Kravitz, and Kravitz listens.

And Kravitz… Kravitz has a friend. It’s friendship, he thinks, at least for Taako.

The very, very married Taako.

“Right,” he mumbles. “Saz.”

Nothing can ever go quite right for him, can it?

“Chin up,” he tells himself. “Softie. This is your first friend in more than 100 years. It’s more than you ever thought you’d have.”

With that thought in mind, he resolves to, maybe, communicate with Taako a little more directly. With his words, even.

It’ll be fine. It’ll all be fine. They’re going to be friends, and that’s all he needs.

Maybe, if he tries hard enough, he can convince himself that it’s all he wants, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find my TAZ blog on tumblr @sapphiremirror!


	4. gone bad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taako and Sazed's relationship takes a turn for the worse. There is a face reveal. Sazed lies, and Taako believes him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so if u guys have noticed the rating HAS gone up and the tags HAVE changed. PLEASE be cautious going into this chapter, especially if physical/emotional/verbal abuse or implied sex/dubcon isn't ur thing. This isn't a nasty nasty r*pe fic or anything like that this is mostly Sazed being shitty and power-hungry but Taako can and will stand up for himself.

When Sazed gets home that night, Taako is downstairs to greet him, house tidy and presentable, laundry done and dinner cooking on the stove. “Hey, babe,” he says, opening his arms to greet his husband. “How was work?”

Sazed shuts the front door behind him and kicks off his shoes, ignoring the offered hug. “Work was good, baby. Dinner smells great. Did you get the laundry done?”

“Sure fucking did,” he answers, dropping his empty arms. “And I scrubbed the shower upstairs, that shit was nasty. I got a lot done today.” He bites his lip. “Filmed another cooking video, too. People are really liking my channel.”

Sazed rolls his eyes so hard Taako half expects them to fall out of his face. “Again with the cooking show,” he sighs. “You don’t have to beg for attention like that.”

“I’m not begging for attention,” Taako argues, “I’m trying to get enough followers so I can get my channel monetized. I’d like to make money off of these videos, so I can afford to open the cafe.”

“You know that’s never going to happen, don’t you, baby?” Sazed sighs. He folds Taako into an embrace, and Taako can almost pretend that what he said hasn’t cut him to his core. “The cafe is a silly dream. I don’t know how you think you’ll ever be able to afford to open that up without my help.”

“I can do it,” Taako huffs, and pushes himself out of Sazed’s arms. “Ugh, I have to—I gotta check on dinner.”

He tries to turn and leave, but Sazed catches a hold of his wrist. “Wait, baby,” he implores. “You know I don’t mean it like that.”

Taako sighs. “Let go, Saz,” he says flatly, tugging against his grip. Sazed’s hand doesn’t budge, and instead grips tighter. “I gotta check dinner.”

“Hmmm. No.” Sazed pulls on Taako’s arm, who pulls right back.

“You’re hurting me,” Taako says, half-warning. “Let go, I gotta check the rice.”

“Right now?” Sazed murmurs, pulling Taako closer, his grip like an iron vice. “Can it wait a minute?”

What Sazed wants is incredibly clear, and Taako sighs again and rolls his eyes but says, “I think it can wait a minute or two.”

“Good,” Sazed purrs, and pulls Taako to him, his grip never loosening. “Cause I can do a lot in two minutes.”

“How much?” Taako asks.

“Let me show you.” Sazed yanks Taako forward into a hungry kiss, finally releasing his wrist to grip his waist with the same force. “Oh, I missed you so much today,” he says between passionate kisses. “Kept thinking about coming home and fucking you senseless. You always look so good with that daze in your eyes.”

Taako moans into the kiss. Sazed may be a douche, but he sure does know how to talk dirty. “Mmm, baby, I gotta, mm. Check on dinner,” he says, as Sazed keeps devouring his mouth.

“Fuck dinner. I want you,” his dick of a husband says, sliding a hand down to cup Taako’s ass.

“Fuck you, I want dinner,” Taako counters, pulling away from Sazed’s hungry lips. “Can you wait, babe?”

“Not really. Been wanting you all day.”

“Go to the bathroom while I finish up dinner,” Taako suggests, trying to escape Sazed’s arms. “Make it a one-man job, I don’t want to right now.”

“Aw, c’mon, babe,” Sazed wheedles, sneaking another kiss. “You know you’ll enjoy it.”

“After dinner. I’m not in the mood, I’m hungry.”

Sazed growls, a sound which usually sends electricity straight to Taako’s tummy but which now just makes him shudder and try harder to get out of range. “I’m hungry too,” Sazed says, and presses his lips to Taako’s neck.

“Ugh, let me go!” Taako shouts, and elbows Sazed in the side of the head.

He instantly regrets it.

Sazed shoves him back, half in shock and half in anger, and Taako stumbles backwards and into a wall. “You bitch,” Sazed hisses. “I work all day for you and this is what you give me? I was trying to make you feel  _ good. _ ”

“Well,” Taako says, fighting to keep his voice from shaking, to keep his haughty attitude about him when his husband is looking at him with rage in his eyes, “you weren’t making me feel good, I’m hungry, and I’d like to eat dinner, which is probably burnt by now.”

“I don’t give a shit about dinner. I just want to have sex, Taako. You didn’t have to fucking hit me.”

“I did, because I don’t want to have sex. You can’t just expect me to want it all the time.”

“You used to. You wanted me all the time, every day.”

“I—I do, Saz, just not… not tonight.” Sazed is moving towards him, like a lion stalking its prey, and it’s making Taako nervous. He’s the antelope in this situation, and he’d like nothing more than to bound away into endless grasslands. But he can’t. He’s stuck, between a wall and his angry husband, and there’s no escape. “C’mon, baby,” he says, half-pleading, the pride gone, “let’s  just go eat dinner and then we can do whatever you want.”

This gives Sazed pause. “Whatever I want?” he asks.

“Yeah,” Taako confirms shakily. “Anything you wanna do to me. I just wanna salvage dinner and get something to eat, I’ve been working all day too.”

Sazed nods slowly, mulling it over. “I think I can make it work.” He crosses the remaining distance to Taako, who flinches, but he just gives him a soft kiss to his lips. “Go save dinner, baby.”

“Uh. Yeah, of course.” Taako ducks out of that situation pronto and hurries into the kitchen, where he finally has a chance to catch his breath. Holy shit, he’d honestly forgotten how scary Sazed could be when he was mad. Maybe this is the start of the bad things Lup had told him about. He absently rubs at his wrist.  _ That’s gonna bruise, _ he thinks.

He peers into a pot on the stove, where the rice is quickly scorching to the bottom. He quickly takes it off the heat and uses a serving spoon to see how bad the situation is. The other pot, with his aunt’s rice and beans recipe, is probably fine. The sauce isn’t as touchy as the rice.

The asparagus, however, is an overcooked mess, and he mournfully throws that potential recipe into the garbage. Not his fault. He’s a good cook. He’s an excellent cook.

It’s Sazed’s fault for being too thirsty for his own good.

He looks down at his bruised wrist where Sazed had grabbed him, and thinks that maybe he regrets promising his husband that he can do whatever he wants to Taako. He’s pretty sure Saz doesn’t know his own strength.

At least, that’s what he’ll keep telling himself.

* * *

The atmosphere in the house tonight is… troubling. He tries not to listen in when certain feelings start to come through, but he can't help but notice the waves of negative energy. Something is off.

From the first floor, he can hear shouting. Normally he'd just block his ears, but though the typical waves of lust are easily detected, something else is leaking through: fear. Taako's fear. For a moment, he is genuinely worried. He considers going down and interfering, concerned for Taako's safety.

It fades quickly, however, at least for a time. But the emotions return, a pull between positive and negative, a mix of lust and fear and pleasure and pain and hate. It's wrong, all wrong. And still, coward that he is, he retreats in his room and he covers his ears and he waits until the last cries have faded away and the house is filled with the peace of sleep once more.

* * *

The next day, Taako wakes up sore and voiceless. “Ugh, what a night,” he rasps. His thighs feel like they went through a taffy puller, and he wouldn’t even think about his core muscles. Or his ass. His poor, poor posterior.

He sits up slowly, regretting every motion, and resolves, as he realizes how sticky and gross both he and the sheets are, that he needs to take a long, hot shower. When he tries to stand, however, he quickly decides that a bath would be better.

Somehow, he manages to hobble to the bathroom, snagging a washcloth from the closet as he starts running the water. After a moment to decide, he snatches up a bath bomb as well and chucks that in there, and the room instantly fills with the smell of bergamot and hibiscus. Once the tub is sufficiently full, he sinks into the water and closes his eyes with a deep, blissful sigh.

The events of last night are a little blurry. After dinner, Sazed used Taako’s promise to its full effect, and Taako ended up a participant in some kinks he didn’t even know Sazed had. It wasn’t the best sex of his life, mostly because the night was hardly ever spent focusing on how he was feeling. Sazed took and took and took, and even though Taako’s sometimes into the whole BDSM thing, he could have done with a little less smacking around. He’s gonna be feeling that all week.

His eyes are closed, but about fifteen minutes into his bath, he can suddenly feel that there’s someone else in the room with him. Which is strange, because when he woke up Sazed was already at work, and the door is closed. “Kravitz?” he says without opening his eyes.

Something of a laugh echoes off the walls.  _ “Hi.” _

Taako almost jumps clear out of the bathwater, and his eyes fly open. There’s nobody visible in the room, unless he squints, and then he can see the haziest of outlines. “You know I’m taking a fucking bath, right? I’m not wearing shit.”

_ “Sorry.” _

Taako takes a moment to adjust, still squinting at the figure in the room. “You’re awful chatty today.”

_ “...Sorry?” _

“You don’t have to apologize, my fella. Fella? Still not sure about the whole gender sich with you.”

_ “Man.” _

“Ah. Great. Nice. Okay.” He pauses. “Why, exactly, are you here in my bathroom when I’m taking a bath?”

_ “I can leave if you want me to.” _

“Aha, so he does speak more than one word.” Taako grins. “If you could just wait til I’m done here that would be great.”

_ “Of course.” _ The hazy figure steps through the still-closed door, the icy chill following it.

Taako shudders and leans back to finish enjoying his bath. Spooky boy is spooky.

Once he's clean and his muscles no longer scream, he emerges from the lukewarm water and towels off, wrapping himself in his bathrobe before stepping back into the bedroom. The atmosphere is chilly but not unbearable. "Thanks for waiting, my dude."

_ "It was no trouble." _

Taako grins and sits down on his bed, opening Twitter and scrolling absently. "So, uh. Can I ask you a question?"

_ "Sure, I suppose?" _

“Are you hot?”

The room goes icy cold.  _ “No.” _

“I didn’t mean literally!”

_ “...I knew that.” _

“I’m pretty sure this was just another of your goofs, my man. But seriously though. Are you, like. A smokin’ hot sexy ghost in the prime of his life, or are you an old man?”

_ “I am over one hundred years old.” _

“Uh-huh.”

_ “...But yeah, I’d say I’m pretty hot.” _

Taako splutters and laughs. “I love that confidence. The spooky whispers really add to the overall effect.”

“I don’t have to whisper.”

“Holy  _ shit!” _ Taako jumps again. “Fuck, go back to the whispers, the disembodied voice thing is really weird. You’re gonna need to have a body to go along with that voice, Krav.”

_ "Would you like me to manifest one?" _

"Uh, if you could, that would be fuckin' spectacular. I know you exist, there's no point in hiding from me."

_ "Right, let me just-" _

The cold air seems to condense, the hazy figure solidifying into a wobbly, blueish form, and then into something more real. In moments, there stands before Taako a tall, slender, dark skinned man with curly hair done in a loose tail at the base of his neck. He is wearing an old-fashioned suit, black with red accents, possibly from the end of the Victorian era, and he's leaning against the door frame, mouth quirked in a half-smile. His hair moves just slightly, as though a breeze blows it, but his feet are planted on the floor and he is not at all transparent. "Hello," he says aloud, though it's softly spoken.

Taako carefully picks his jaw up off the floor, dusts it off, and returns it to its proper place. "Hey. Nice face, gotta say."

Kravitz laughs softly. "Thank you. I could easily say the same for you."

Taako is about to melt. "It's very dangerous to flirt with a married man with that face, bubala. Careful my darling husband doesn't hear you."

"Right, of course." There's a pause, where Kravitz's eyes flick to the floor, and then back to Taako. "Uh, speaking of. I heard shouting last night, is everything… are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's fine, Taako's good," he replies, though his hand rubs absently at his bruised wrist, stained an ugly purple-green in the shape of Sazed's hand.

"Is that a bruise?" Kravitz asks, frowning and taking a step closer.

"Yeah, Saz just doesn't know his own strength, I guess," Taako shrugs. "I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt me."

Kravitz's frown seems to deepen. "You were afraid last night. I felt it, you were very scared. Did… is he the one who made you feel that way?"

"Uh. A bit? He just gets mad when I say no to things. And he's bigger than me, so it's a little. Uh. Intimidating when he's mad. But I know he'd never try to hurt me. Not on purpose." He pauses. "Outside of his weird kinky sex shit. Of course. But you don't need to know all that shit."

"Right. Um." Kravitz shakes his head quick. "Be careful. With him. Alright? He's. There's something off about your… your husband."

"Course, bubelah. Taako can handle this. No worries."

"If you insist." Kravitz folds his hands behind his back. "I… know it's probably nothing, but. Um. If you need my help, and you're on the property, just say my name," he says. "Doesn't matter how loud, I'll know."

"Sure thing, my dude. I appreciate the help." Taako grins a bright, gap-toothed grin. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've gotta get dressed. If you wanna be of use you can, I dunno, dust the furniture or wipe down the counters and the stove in the kitchen, maybe do the dishes from last night. I could use the help, the house is a disaster. And Saz  _ hates _ disasters."

* * *

Taako doesn't record another cooking video that day, instead trying to get the house tidy while his sore muscles yell at him to please sit down and never get up again. It's not as difficult with the help of his conveniently solid spooky help, but even with a reduced workload his body would appreciate not doing any manual labor today.

He thinks, absently, as he dusts the china cabinet's shelves, that maybe he should tell Sazed that he doesn't like the BDSM stuff because it makes him hurt in the morning. But no, that wouldn't do him any good. Sazed would pout and threaten until Taako gave in, and then insist once they finished that Taako enjoyed it, even if it wasn't particularly fun for Taako.

But.

But maybe. Maybe he  _ does _ enjoy it. He gets some pleasure out of it. He never asks to stop. He eventually says yes and consents before it happens. It's not  _ non- _ consensual. It's just painful sometimes. Which is the point.

Perhaps, though… perhaps he should ask Sazed to keep the bruising and the scariness to the bedroom. Maybe that can be a good boundary. Healthy relationships have boundaries, right? He's pretty sure Lup's talked about it before regarding Barry.

Sazed is home before the house is clean, and Kravitz, who is in the kitchen when the door opens, vanishes into a cold breeze which blows up the stairs. Taako drops the wet cloth he was using to clean the island and hurries to the door to greet Sazed. “Hey, baby, I’m running a bit behind schedule today. I was just getting the kitchen prepped to start dinner if you don’t mind it being a little late.”

Sazed scowls, kicking off his shoes before crossing his arms. “I’m hungry, I was hoping that my husband, who is  _ supposed  _ to be the self-proclaimed ‘best chef in the world’, would have dinner ready and on the table for me when I return home from a long day at work.”

“Well, uh. That’s not happening tonight, Saz. I haven’t been feeling super great today, you went a little rough on me last night. If you want me in good shape to keep the house running, you’re gonna have to be a little more careful with this delicate—”

Taako is abruptly cut off by Sazed grabbing onto his gesturing, already-bruised arm with a punishing grip. “Do  _ not _ blame  _ me _ for  _ your _ fuck-ups,” he snarls, up close to Taako’s face. “I work hard every day to bring home a paycheck for you. I saved you from the shithole you were living in before. I gave you a big house and a great kitchen and I asked you for a few  _ simple _ things. But I guess you’re too  _ fucking _ stupid to understand, so let me outline it for you again. Maybe this time it’ll stick.” He drags Taako close to him, right in his face, twisting his arm painfully. “You keep the place I bought clean. You cook the food I buy. You sleep with me at night in my bed. You listen when I talk to you. Do you get it now?”

Taako swallows down a whimper of pain as Sazed once more cruelly twists his arm. “Yeah. Yeah, I got it, baby.”

“Excellent.” Sazed lets go of Taako’s arm, only to reach out and cup his wide-eyed face. His own expression almost instantly softens. “I’m sorry, baby, you know I don’t mean to hurt you or yell at you. I only do it when you really deserve it. C’mon, let’s get dinner started, okay?”

Taako nods, presses his face into the touch for a brief instant, and steps back from Sazed before disappearing into the kitchen, his arm aching and already bruising over again. “Idiot,” he whispers to himself, shaking his head. “You really had that coming, this time.”

Of  _ course _ Sazed is angry, he has every right to be. What he wants is simple, and it’s Taako’s fault he can’t take care of those simple tasks. He retrieves a skillet and the ingredients he needs and starts dinner, his heart still pounding in his throat, his arm still throbbing. He needs to do better if he’s ever going to be competent enough to open that cafe. However long that takes.

* * *

_ -hey lulu _

_ -what’s up my dude _

_ -uh. nothing i think _

_ -yeah theres something up tell ur big sis _

_ -im older than u _ _   
_ _ but uh. how does one establish boundaries with his psychopath husband _

_ -uh honestly my dude? i dont know if its physically possible to establish boundaries with ur hubby _

_ -great thanks for that reassurance. asshole _

_ -did something happen _ _   
_ _ taako did he hurt you _

_ -its fine im fine dont worry so much about me i just want him to back off a little _

_ -im going to kill him. im gonna kill him with my bare fucking hands _

_ -holy shit lulu how many times have i told u not to murder my only source of tax benefits _

_ -there are other ways of getting tax benefits than living with a fucking psycho my guy _

_ -its only for a little longer im almost at 100k subs and then im gonna get that bread _

_ -okay ko but let me know if u need anything i’ll be over in a second _

_ -ya but dont let him see u lmao the last thing i need is that jackass screaming his head off abt seeing u around here _

_ -shit koko _ _   
_ _ stay safe tho ok? _

_ -no prob lup ilu _

_ -ilu _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this chapter and the next one are the most intense in the way of abuse, just letting y'all know how it's gonna go. Things get better after chapter 5 for our boy.


	5. negative energy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> we hear a bit more about kravitz's backstory. things go from bad to worse. taako negotiates with himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow ok so big ol warning for talks abt how krav died, and also a big ol scene where sazed gets a bit physically violent and also emotionally abusive. this chapter's got a buncha heavy stuff in it but i swear it gets better after this chapter! thats character development babey!
> 
> also sorry for Not Writing for so long i finished my freshman year of college and then i got a new job and then i watched good omens and it was just a big ol adhd spiral of not being able to focus on writing but!!! im back!!!!!!!

"So," Taako says casually as he carefully trims his shoulder-length red hair, staring hard at the mirror as he makes a few deliberate snips, "how'd you get to be a ghost, my dude?"

It's been about a week since Sazed went crazy over his late dinner, and things are just as they have been, for the most part. Kravitz has continued to help out around the place, and is appearing in his corporeal form more often these days. The ghost in question is hanging up shirts in the walk-in closet when Taako asks, but he pops out, peeking into the bathroom. "Um. What do you mean? Like, just, the process of becoming a ghost? Are you, are you asking if God did this?"

Taako snorts and puts down the scissors so he can face Kravitz. "Nah, dude, I—shit, is this rude? Is it like ghost one-oh-one to not ask a ghost how they died?"

"Uhhh not that I'm aware? Then again I've never had any, uh, formal training on how to be a ghost, I'm mostly self-taught—" He can't hold it in anymore, Kravitz starts laughing, unable to even finish his sentence.

Taako's right there with him, giggling, his voice rocketing up and octave or two, and he squeaks out, "Did you—you never went to—is there— _ ghost practice?" _ He wheezes, leaning on the counter for support, cracking himself up over this terrible goof.

"Ghost school," Kravitz suggests through his own laughter, "there should be ghost school. Y'know. School for aspiring ghosts."

"G-get a, get a degree in poltergeist activity," Taako wheezes. "Graduate from  _ ghost college," _ he says.

They spend a few moments trying to get themselves under control, and then Kravitz says, "Uh. Um. So. You asked how I died?"

"Uhhh, yeah, bones, I mean. If don't wanna tell me that's fine, you don't have to relive anything if you don't want to."

"No, no, it's nothing incredibly, uh. Bothering. Traumatic. I got sick. Awful fever. Delusions. Died alone here in my big old house, must've been almost a hundred years ago."

Taako briefly flashes back to a time several years ago when he and Lup were 19 and Taako had caught the flu. He doesn't remember much from a span of about three days, mostly fever dreams, endless tossing and turning, Lup dutifully looking after him, eyes loving and worried. They hadn't had much money then, so they couldn't afford the medicine Taako needed, and so he slept on the futon in the bedroom under dozens of blankets with three fans pointed at him on full blast and an ice pack on his forehead, trying to lower his fever without the drugs he needed.

He remembers when the fever finally broke, and Lup started crying because she was certain that she was going to lose her brother that week. He remembers her curled close to his side that night, arms and legs tangled, as he finally slept peacefully through the night.

"That shit sucks, man," Taako says decisively, and then returns to cutting his hair.

* * *

“Mmmnph,” Taako grumbles, rolling over in bed. “Lemme sleep.”

“Don’t be so lazy.” A finger pokes at his cheek, and then a big hand grabs his shoulder and then shakes him until his eyes open. “C’mon, babe, if I have to wake up this early then so do you.”

“Not sure that’s how this works. But uh, you kept me up pretty late last night, babe. I’ll set an alarm for an hour from now but I’m pretty worn out still.” Taako wrinkles his nose at his husband. “Do you even have a refractory period?”

“Does it matter? You didn’t complain last night.”

“Yeah, but I probably should have,” Taako mutters. “You gotta stop keeping me up so late just cause you want round four or five. I, at least, need my beauty sleep.”

Sazed sighs, exasperated. “Alright, fine. I’ll set your alarm for one hour from now, but you better not snooze it.”

“I promise,” Taako lies, and turns over so he doesn’t have to see Sazed.

It’s been three weeks since Sazed lost his mind over his late dinner, if Taako remembers correctly. And so far, things have been pretty chill. He’s gotten his shit done on time, he’s made fewer cooking videos (though his channel is still gaining hundreds of followers every day), and at night he and Sazed sleep together on the regular, although that activity is, more often, not very enjoyable for one of the two parties involved.

"Taako?"

It's not the utterance of his name that sparks a pang of fear in his gut as much as it is the tone of voice in which it is uttered: stony, steely, angry. "Yeah?" he says, innocent as possible. What did he do?

"Would you mind reading aloud these texts you sent to your sister?" Sazed requests in that same tone. He hands the phone to Taako as he sits up, and Taako swallows as he sees the words on the screen.

"H-how does one establish boundaries with his… psychopath husband," he mumbles. "Uh. The last thing I need is that jackass screaming his head off." He glances up at Sazed, whose face is set with rage. "Listen," he tries, a vain attempt to placate, "it's all just goofs, I don't actually—you know I like you, Saz, I married you for fuck's sake, I wouldn't—"

It's almost instantaneous, the way Sazed's hand flies out. The  _ crack _ of the strike doesn't register in Taako's ears for a moment or two, he's just suddenly lying on his back on the bed, and then he tastes blood, and  _ then _ the pain registers. He gasps as he sits back up, a delayed reaction, his own hand flying up to touch where Sazed struck him.

"I don't understand why you would call me names, Taako," Sazed sighs, his tone now unfathomably disappointed. It almost hurts worse than the hit. Almost. "I provide you with a home, with food and running water, with a paycheck, with companionship, and this is what I get? I can't believe this." He takes Taako roughly by the chin, and Taako squirms in his grip. "I think someone's been under the bad influence of his low-life twin. Maybe you should stop talking with her, she's getting to your head. There  _ is _ a reason why I asked you to keep her and her obnoxious husband off the property, you know. I can't imagine why I thought you were actually competent enough to remember that."

“Don’t… don’t talk about Lup like that,” Taako says, yanking his head out of Sazed’s grip. “She’s got nothing to do with this, I swear. I don’t know why the fuck you hate her so much, she hasn’t done anything to you.”

Sazed laughs, humorless. “What a joke. I’ve heard the way she talks about me, like she’s so much better than me. Like she’s so much more important than me. There’s nobody more important to you than me, now, though, is there, Taako? I’m the most important person in your life. I gave you everything.”

“Fuck you,” Taako spits.

This is obviously the wrong thing to say, because Sazed snarls and hits him across the face again, sending him sprawling. “Shut up, you know it’s true!” he bites. “She’s still in your head, she’s been brainwashing you for years into thinking that she’s so important to you. But what has she done for you, huh? What has she done that I haven’t done better? Who are you to compare that bitch to me?”

“That’s…” Taako shakes his head, his hand covering his face. “That’s not true. That’s not true, Saz, stop saying these things.”

_ What if it is true? _ his traitorous mind says.  _ What if he’s right? What if Lup’s been slowly wrecking your life ever since you were born? _

“C’mon, baby,” Sazed says, and his voice is softer now, less angry. Taako sits up, staring warily at his husband. “I love you so much more than she ever has. I want to give you the world. I’m  _ trying _ to give you the world. Has she ever done that for you?”

_ Yes, _ Taako wants to say. But what if he’s right? But what if he’s right? But what if he’s  _ right? _

“I… I don’t know.” Taako shakes his head, bites his lip. “I don’t know, Saz.”

“Yes, you do. You do, Taako.” Sazed bends down, catches Taako’s mouth in a kiss. “I’m gonna take away your phone, baby, just for a little while, just until I think I can trust you to not text the wrong people, okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah, okay,” Taako whispers. That seems good. That seems fair. Of course Sazed doesn’t trust him. After what Taako said? Of course he doesn’t.

“I’m gonna go to work now. I love you,” Sazed says, and kisses him once more before leaving.

“Love you,” Taako mumbles, even if the words feel hollow. He sits on the bed for a long, long time.

* * *

There’s something wrong with Taako, Kravitz knows it. He’s been acting strange for several weeks, ever since that strange influx of negative energy. And that negative energy has been following him around ever since.

He hasn’t seemed particularly upset these past several days, despite the energy radiating off of him. He’s continued recording his cooking show, albeit less frequently. He continues chatting with Kravitz, who appears in his corporeal form more often, and their conversations typically remain chipper. Taako talks about his sister and her husband (Lup and Barry, with whom Taako is incredibly close), about his other friends back in the town where he’s from, and even bounces ideas for recipes off of him. (Kravitz isn’t entirely sure what a lot of these foods are, but they do sound delicious when Taako explains them. Taako is an incredibly good cook.) Their friendship really has grown these last few weeks, and Kravitz, somehow, continues to swallow down his excess feelings for Taako in order to keep that balance. Besides, he keeps reminding himself, Taako is  _ married _ , however unhealthy that relationship may seem.

Taako typically doesn’t display his negative emotions, keeping them hidden behind some facade, like the makeup he uses to cover the bruises on his arms and neck and chest. They both know something is wrong, but they never address it.

But today it’s especially bad, and he’s concerned that it has something to do with whatever those awful emotions were that he’d felt this morning. So he hunts Taako down, and finds him sitting in a chair facing the window, face in the sun. He manifests his body and comes up behind his friend.

“Ta—um, Taako?”

“What’s up, my dude?” Taako says without looking up.

“Are you… Taako, are you okay?”

“Sure. I mean, I’m fine, homie. Nothing wrong with ol’ Taako.”

Kravitz moves closer, keeping his cold confined close to himself, trying to keep his aura from invading the warmth of Taako’s body. “I heard… shouting. Earlier today… why won’t you look at me?” He tries to float closer, to see Taako’s face, and is only met with the back of Taako’s head as he turns away again and again. “Taako— _ Taako—” _

“Fuck  _ off,  _ Krav!” Taako snaps, getting up from his chair and stalking across the room. “It’s none of your business.”

“I think it  _ is,  _ because I’m your  _ friend!” _ Kravitz argues. “I’m worried about you!” He approaches Taako, and he goes to touch him and he  _ flinches. _ Kravitz immediately moves back a foot or two. “Sorry,” he says reflexively, then, slowly, as the realization comes over him, “did he… Taako, did he  _ hit you?” _

“Not—not hard,” Taako says weakly. “He didn’t… it’s not super ugly, I can hide it with makeup…”

“Can I… will you let me see?”

There’s a long pause and Kravitz is mostly certain Taako is about to ask him to leave, but then he turns around, and… “Oh, shit,” Kravitz says before he can stop himself. “Does it—does it hurt?”

“Not much,” Taako mutters. His eyes are fixed on the rug. “Deserved it anyway.”

“No—fuck,  _ Taako _ — _ ” _ Kravitz can’t stop himself, he moves forward and catches Taako in a cold, cold hug.

“Oh—” Taako starts, and Kravitz is certain Taako is going to try to escape (not that he wouldn’t let him, of course). But he doesn’t. Instead, his arms snake around Kravitz’s partially-corporeal rib cage and lock tight around him, and he buries his face in Kravitz’s icy chest, and he doesn’t let go.

And he doesn’t let go.

He’s so warm, is the thing, and Kravitz wants to sap the heat from his body, wants to feel this warmth forever and ever, but that suddenly isn’t important, because the next moment Taako is shuddering in his arms and it’s not from cold. “Hey,” Kravitz says softly. “Hey, it’s—”

“Not crying,” Taako mumbles. “Just shut up and hug me. Loser.”

So Kravitz stands there, and he feels warm, and he holds tight onto Taako who holds tight right back.

“Why do you love him?” he asks eventually, the question popping out before he has the chance to filter his words.

Taako stiffens in his arms and there is a long, long pause. “I… don’t.”

“But… you’re married? And he calls you ‘baby?’ And you call him—those kinds of names. And—listen, I live here, my presence is everywhere whether you like it or not and I don’t  _ see  _ things but I  _ hear  _ things and—Taako, you sleep together, and you eat together, and you hold hands and he kisses you and you kiss him and—”

“It’s not—it’s not  _ love, _ Krav.”

Kravitz is shocked for a moment into silence. “Wh—what?”

“It’s  _ not.  _ It’s just surviving. It’s just me trying to get my life together and getting tax benefits from a shitty marriage until I can open a bakery and kick him the fuck out.”

Kravitz can't be sure, but Taako doesn't sound certain. “Okay,” he says after a beat. “But—I don't—I would hate to see you get hurt by him again.”

“You won’t,” Taako says, escaping from the hug at last. “It’s not gonna happen again.”

“You don’t know that,” Kravitz argues. “He’s… Taako, he’s incredibly unstable. You’re going to get hurt again, no matter what you do.”

“Nah, dude, all I gotta do is keep on not fucking up. It’s gonna be fine. I just. I can’t leave yet. There’s no way I can leave yet, I’m not ready.”

“Isn’t there… isn’t there another way to accomplish what you want to do? There has to be some other way,” Kravitz insists. “Your husband… Sazed is, frankly, Taako, he’s a terrible person. The negative energy coming off of him would be enough to open a portal to some less-friendly entities if he so much as touched a ouija board. He’s unstable, he’s cruel, he’s terrible.”

“C’mon, Krav. He’s not that awful. You’re just exaggerating things ‘cause he hit me one time. I’m sure he didn’t mean to hurt me for real.”

Kravitz pinches the bridge of his nose. "I'm not going to force you, and I'm not going to interfere unless you ask me to, or if your life is at stake. But…" He gives Taako a pleading look. "I worry for you. I just want you to be safe."

Taako's eyes soften briefly. "I will be. Nothing like this is going to happen again, I'll make sure of it."

Kravitz sighs. He doesn't have the energy for this. "If you're sure." He closes his eyes and collects himself. "Is there anything you need help with today?"

"Mm. Shelves could use dusting. And you could empty the dishwasher."

"Anything else? I'm happy to help, you know that. Did you want to do another video today?"

"Uh, n-no. Not today." There's a look in Taako's eyes at that, sort of like a hunted animal, which only serves to further worry Kravitz. "Not, uh. Not feeling up to it."

"Well, maybe you should take a rest today. Maybe have your sister over?"

"No!" Taako shouts, and then clamps his mouth shut. "Didn't mean to yell," he mumbles. "Um. I'm gonna go start some laundry." And he leaves the room in a hurry, leaving Kravitz, confused, to get started with the cleaning.

* * *

Taako lays flat on his back on the bed, chores finished, rhythmically biting each of his fingernails. Typically he keeps them manicured, but things are shitty so old habits are returning with a vengeance. He can't stop thinking about his bad decisions and his likely crummy future.

Now that most of the shock from Sazed's sudden outburst of violence has subsided, now that his words have been churning in the back of Taako's mind for a while, he's starting to realize the gravity of the situation, how far gone Sazed is, how easily he'd let Sazed say those things about Lup. He takes his fingernail out of his mouth so he can clench his fists.

It's not as if Taako  _ wants _ to keep living with Sazed. That's the thing: he didn't mean for it to go on for this long, he didn't mean for shit to hit the fan so fast. But he can't afford to move out, or file for divorce, or anything like that. He needs his limited life savings for his future cafe. He had hoped that Sazed would have been a little more willing to help him achieve his dream, especially considering how infatuated Sazed had originally seemed.

But, well. Nothing ever seems to go according to plan, especially in Taako's life. And, apparently, both he and Sazed were using each other. It's a mutually parasitic relationship: Taako is using Sazed for tax benefits and for money and for a stepping stone to success, and Sazed is using Taako to fulfill his own twisted fantasies.

He doesn't know what to do. He should confront Sazed, but he doesn't know what to say. He should call Lup, but he doesn't have his phone. He should apologize to Kravitz for freaking out. And for denying that maybe he's in a bit of a Situation. But he's afraid.

What is he even afraid of? Kravitz isn't scary, even if he is a ghost. He’s just some guy who sometimes goes transparent or invisible. And also seems to care very much about Taako and Taako’s health and Taako’s wellbeing and Taako’s life choices.

Ugh, having friends isn’t so much fun when they actually hold you accountable to make sure you don’t ruin your life.

Taako makes a noise of frustration, rolls over onto his stomach, buries his face in his pillow, and lets out a muffled scream. Today’s been shitty. This month’s been shitty.  _ Life, _ honestly, has been shitty.

He screams a couple times, kicks his feet like a petulant toddler for a solid 10 seconds, and then rolls back over onto his back, sits up, and goes downstairs. He needs to start dinner so it’s ready to go on the table for when Sazed gets home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okokokokok u can yell @ me or send arts or whatever to @sapphiremirror on tumblr! gimme a big ol' follow!


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